His Holiness the Dalai Lama Accepting the Professor ML Sondhi Prize for International Politics 2016 at India International Centre. (Photo courtesy: Jeremy Russell/OHHDL)

(TibetanReview.net, Apr29, 2017) – While visiting New Delhi for a routine medical checkup, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on Apr 27, briefed members of the Core Committee working on a Curriculum for Universal Values prior to their own discussions. Later in the afternoon he visited the India International Centre to receive the Professor ML Sondhi Prize for International Politics.

Stressing the importance of the curriculum for Universal Values, the Dalai Lama told the Core Committee members, “Education is our only hope, but due to a consensus among educationists, scientists and social workers that the current education system is inadequate when it comes to dealing with inner values, we formed this group to formulate an approach to secular ethics. These values are related to our emotions, so we need a better understanding of them and the workings of the mind.”

The Professor ML Sondhi Prize ceremony took place at the India International Centre with Mr Arun Shourie, former Indian government minister and top Indian journalist as the chief guest.

The Dalai Lama was introduced to the audience by Mrs Madhuri Santanam Sondhi who praised the Tibetan leader for his introduction of democracy to the Tibetan community in exile, his stress on the need for moral values, for secular ethics, and the value of dialogue between science and spirituality.

Chief Guest Arun Shourie observed that whereas recipients were usually honoured when they were given a prize, this was one of the rare cases where the award was honoured because it was bestowed on someone like His Holiness.

The late Professor ML Sondhi, a former diplomat, had taught at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and was a great supporter of the Tibet issue and the Dalai Lama.

The award ceremony was also addressed by former Indian Foreign Secretary Mr Lalit Mansingh who praised Prof Sondhi’s consistent championing of the cause of Tibet and his declaration of Tibet’s role in Indo-Chinese relations.

The Professor ML Sondhi Prize for International Politics was instituted by the ML Sondhi Memorial Trust and the ML Sondhi Institute of Asia-Pacific Affairs in 2006. It is given annually for outstanding contributions, relevant to India, to the theory or practice of international politics.